Updating Umbrel Apps on Linux Systems: Solving Permission Errors
Introduction
Linux systems can vary significantly, and updating applications like LND on Umbrel might encounter challenges. Recently, I encountered a bug in my LND version (v0.16.3-beta) related to memory allocation.
Although there was an update available on the Umbrel app store, I couldn’t install it successfully. After investigating the karen.log file (umbrelDir/logs/karen.log), I identified a problem related to docker permissions.
This tutorial will guide you on how to update Apps (in this case lightning - LND) on Umbrel in case of issues using the normal App Store.
NOTE: Umbrel app deamons are managed using docker images, while configurations are stored into the umbrel/app-data folder.
Before proceeding, remember to back up your channels’ state using Lightning’s feature and also back up your seed phrase!!!
Step 1: Stop Umbrel
Ensure you stop Umbrel before proceeding with any of the following instructions.
Inside umbrel directory:
$ sudo ./scripts/stop
Step 2: Backup the App Folder
To update Lightning (LND) or any other app, we need to create a backup of the relevant App folder. For instance, if you are updating the Lightning app, locate the folder named ‘lightning’ and rename the folder, such as ‘bitcoin’ to ‘bitcoin-bak’ or ‘lightning’ to ‘lightning-bak’.
Now that your critical information is backed up we’re ready to continue with to update.
NOTE: Renaming the original folder will remove any connections with the previous app version, allowing you to install the newer version without encountering permission errors while preserving old informations.
Step 3: Install the Updated App
Start Umbrel again, the app should not be visible so now we’re able to install it from the app store.
$ sudo ./scripts/start
Once umbrel is ready, go in to the App store and install again the application you want to update.
Depending on the application, you may encounter prompts during the onboarding process. For LND, it might ask you to restore a wallet or create a new one.
After this step, stop Umbrel again because we will be finally restoring our old settings files.
Step 4: Restore the Old Settings
To complete the update process:
- Navigate to umbrel/app-data,
- locate the current app folder and rename it (e.g., the new lightning folder becomes lightning-bak-2, since we should already have a lightning-bak folder containing our old files ),
- now rename the backed-up version from lightning-bak to lightning.
This backed-up version contains all the details related to your original Lightning wallet, channels, and node settings.
By renaming it we successfully restored all the previous informations of our node.
Step 5: Start Umbrel and Verify
Finally, start Umbrel again and check if the app is recognized correctly and if it’s functioning with the old information. Your updated Lightning (LND) or other apps should now be working smoothly without any permission errors.
Conclusion:
Updating apps on Linux systems like Umbrel may require a few extra steps, but with this guide, you should be able to overcome permission issues and keep your applications up-to-date. Always remember to back up critical information before making any changes to ensure the safety of your data.